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Electronic Arts is Making a Shift

EA has had some pretty rough times when it comes to consumer satisfaction, in fact, times have been so rough for the past few years that in 2013 EA was the first company to ever win the Consumerist’s Worst Company In America title two years in a row.

Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts, says that the company now has a plan to turn their image and company around and make a shift in the way that EA does things. Wilson gave Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo the inside story on just what EA plans to do in their effort to change the way EA designs games that goes into detail on the new plan to make their games play good early in he process, test them more thoroughly, delay game launches when it needs to be delayed and let the consumer know about the games sooner.

Yes, that’s right, they plan to let people know more about the games sooner. Battlefield: Hardline is one good example of their move forward. The PC BETA test for Battlefield: Hardline went live after this year’s E3 announcement and there are plans for more BETA tests later in the year, including a beta for PS3 users. Another example of their new, more communicative, structure is seen in cosplay events at conventions. A recent episode of Heros of Cosplay featured the unveiling of one of the new companions for Dragon Age: Inquisition and in a post on the Bioware Blog, the company announced the release of Dragon Age Character Kits to be released for use by everyone from cosplayers to cake decorators.

In reference to the new, more open, policy, Wilson told Kotaku, “The world is changing. This Hollywood blockbuster mentality of ‘keep all of the information to yourself’ is not something that makes sense in today’s world. … we can’t keep a secret anyway so we may as well just start talking about it.”

Will the new policy of being more open about their upcoming games and promises to work harder and longer on them make a difference in how the company is viewed by the consumer? It’s hard to say, but hopefully, along with all their other plans, EA has a plan to provide consumers with a full experience up-front, since a lot of the issues of the past have stemmed not from the ability to see what they were doing, but from games that were released incomplete and a feeling by some consumers that the company was trying to get them to spend a lot on a game and more on added content.

Wilson commented on this to Kotaku: “For me to sit here and say we will not have issues again would be disingenuous. It’s not possible. The only way you get to a point where you can almost guarantee no issues is if you’re not pushing the boundaries, if you’re not innovating.”